JUDGES from the Australian International Beer Awards had the challenging job of tasting some of Ballarat’s finest cold ones at the Rebellion Brewery yesterday. Highlighting the stressful and demanding task at hand, regular judge Jayne Lewis said judges often had to try more than 70 beers a day. “And we don’t do the regular spit like the wine-tasters,” Ms Lewis said with a laugh. “It’s fair to say by the end of the day you can end up a little tipsy.” In town to give a special demonstration on beer judging, the judges will next week begin the task of sampling the best beers from around the world. Entering their 21st year, the renowned awards have this year attracted a record 1480 entries from 270 brewers in Australia and internationally. Judges will be looking for the top beer based on appearance, aroma, flavour, technical quality and trueness to style. “It’s pretty obvious that we have the best jobs in the world,” Ms Lewis said. “Hopefully, this year we discover something pretty unique.”